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Henry is 4!

So this is over a month late. This is insanely late. In some way it feels appropriate because it seemed like we celebrated Henry’s birthday for all of September. A month of birthday. Poor kid was so confused.

We did his party a week before his actual birthday because James would be traveling to Malta. (And we went too!) Just a cookout with friends. We did all things Spiderman. Thanks to the internets, we had Spiderman plates, masks, bubbles, and a pull string pinata. His party had a coloring station that I was proud of because we went to a local copy shop to get copies of a Spiderman pic to color. Henry was mostly just interested in running around with his friends. Mac was mostly just in it for the cupcakes.

The birthday also felt extended because we kept dribbling out the presents. We got Henry the last two books in his Mighty Robot series which he has been eyeing from the back covers for quite some time. We also got him a crushable map of Rome and a book of adventure. The real coup was Lego Ultimate Aaron. Back at Easter, Henry got some significant time with another kid’s Aaron action figure. When he had to return it, he was crushed. Seeing his face on opening that one was priceless. Because we couldn’t figure out exactly when we’d be celebrating, he just sort of doled out a present a day.

And generous gifts from family and friends arrived throughout the month to make it extra festive. Henry received Superman sheets, playdoh and superhero capes, The Gruffalo and a Batman/Spiderman/Lex Luthor Lego set, and even more Legos. Many thanks to all!

Henry’s actual birthday was in Malta. We did get a photo with the banner to carry on the tradition.

For his actual birthday, we went to PlayMobil. This wasn’t necessarily FOR his birthday (we would have gone anyway), but it was fun on the actual day.

I forgot to play the Beatles Birthday Song, but I did remember birthday questions!

What foods do you like to eat: Pasta, spaghetti, and big pasta

What friends do you like to play with: Landon, Mark, Eliza, William, I miss William sometimes

What toys do you like to play with: The toys in Roma . . . Lightening McQueen . . . (Starts playing with his Batman Legos)

What places do you like to go: Hamburger places. (Anywhere else?) French fry places.

What do you want to do when you grow up: (After much questioning) Be a button pusher.

What TV show do you like to watch: Octonauts, ninjas

What color do you like: Yellow

What sports do you like: Hockey and soccer

I keep not publishing this post because I haven’t gotten around to writing a birthday letter. But things have changed so much from your birthday that it wouldn’t be very accurate anyway. Here goes nothing.

I will say, Dear Henry, that you seem to have developed a little self control over the past few months. Around your birthday, you were having some serious rage issues. I would try to hold you to calm you down, but this didn’t really work. Thankfully, this has gotten a lot better lately. (Knocks on wood.) You will still occasionally shove your brother or such in a fit of rage, but I also see the times when you are frustrated but hold yourself back.

You love love love all things tiny Legos. You make “cool creations” on the reg and your spaceships put mine to shame. You also love all things superhero. Batman is your most favorite, but you like to talk about all superheroes for hours. Like that time I made the mistake of mentioning I saw the Avengers Civil War movie and you grilled me about it incessantly.

You aren’t reading by yourself at all, but I love that you love books. You do correct me when I get the words wrong.

You can now dress yourself. You do this sometimes reluctantly, but we all know you can do it.

You are very social. You love hanging out with your friends, and you are always game to socialize with kids on the playground. Even if they don’t speak your language, you will always try.

In general, you are not scared to interact with people. You’ve run down waiters in restaurants to get the check. You’ll run across the piazza to put coins in the bubble blower’s jar. You talk to people and are not scared to share your opinions on things or quiz them about what Green Lantern’s deal is. I dumped you into an Italian language swimming class which you have handled with aplomb.

I love that you try new things. You’re my kid who might not like it, but will try the food on his plate. You and I had shared a cone of fried seafood in Naples. Four year old me would have taken one look at the crispy shrimp heads and ran, but you went for it. And loved it.

As my first kid, we are definitely still figuring things out together. Even though I miss squishing your chunky toddler thighs, I’m excited about where the adventure is taking us next.

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2 thoughts on “Henry is 4!”

When I read that he wants to be a “button pusher” I envisioned him in a trench coat on the corner selling buttons out of his many pockets, and I was pretty excited for a minute. That’s something I could totally use.